Ankle-strppoktihgr gaiteb



TAMSON G. RICH, OF MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

.ANKLE-SUPPORTING- GAITER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 31,259, dated January 29, 1861.

To all 'whom 'it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, TAMsoN G. R101-1, of Milton, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Ankle-Supporting Gaiter for Skaters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a view of my improved ankle supporter as applied to the foot of a skater. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the gaiter, on the line a@ of Fig. 1.

Ladies and children who are learning to skate, lind their greatesttrouble to arise from weakness of the ankle, this permitting the foot to turn over on its side, making it tiresome and difficult for them to stand up on theiry skates. To relieve this is the object of my present invention: which consists in a gaiter of cloth or other suitable material,

which embraces the heel and ankle, and extends up above the ankle joint, the requisite stiffness for supporting the ankle, being furnished to the gaiter by a series of ribs of whalebone or other pliant material, which are properly secured to the cloth or other material of which the gaiter is composedwhereby I obtain the proper support for the ankle, to prevent the foot from turning under, at the same time that a sufficient freedom of motion is allowed to the ankle joint, to permit the foot to bend in the act of skating or walking.

I am aware that metallic braces have been attached to the sides of a skate, for the purpose of supporting the ankle; these were clumsy and inconvenient, they required to be fastened to the ankle when' the skate vwas put on, and were liable to hurt the wearerwhereas my gaiter is intended to be put on andA secured over the boot before the wearer leaves home, and is soft and comfortable 'when on the foot. I am aware also, that a strip of whalebone or steel, has been sewn in at the side of an ordinary gaiter, this however was for a different purpose; only being intended to hold up the top of the gaiter and prevent it from wrinkling, and was usually only applied to one side of the gaiter, instead of surrounding the ankle and supporting it, as in mine.

That others skilled in the art may undermg 0 which holds the cloth and lining to- I gether, a row of stitching being placed on each side of a strip 0,. These strips a extend the whole height of the gaiter (which reaches above the ankle joint) and are placed as close as convenient, to each other; the series of them extending entirely around the ankle, except for a small space immediately at the back of the foot, and another at the front where the gaiter is fastened. The omission of the strips a at these points, allows a greater freedom of motion to the foot, when skating ort walking. The gaiter is put on over the boot, from the heel, and is fastened at the front by straps and buckles at ZJ-or eyelets and lacing, or other suitable fastenings inay be used. A strap passes from one side to the other of the gaiter, beneath the hollow of the foot, in the ordinary manner.

g is a trimming of fur around the top of the gaiter.

The strips a may be of whalebone, wood,.

steel or other suitable material, the design being to have them somewhat pliant, that they may-not hurt the ankle, and yet stiff enough to give it the required support- These ends I am enabled to attain by` using a number of thin strips, placed on both sides of the foot, and surrounding the ankle with them.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The above described ankle supporting gaiter, in which a series of strips or ribs a of whalebone, or other suitable pliant mate rial, surrounds the ankle, and by extending above the ankle joint gives the required support to`it, substantially in the manner set 

